Burcot Woodturners honor longtime member as clinic fills all lathes

All three lathes were in use at Burcot Woodturners’ second Hands On and Turning Clinic of the year, a sharp sign that hands-on coaching is still drawing interest at the club. Members were not just watching from the sidelines. They were taking turns at the machines, with Trevor Cocks guiding people through apples and pears, Tony Jones coaching a novice turner on a garden dibber, and AWGB Midland representative Barrie Fisher showing how paint and sand can be used to decorate a finished piece.

The evening also stretched beyond basic shaping. Mike Crocket and Ray Muggleton were on hand with pyrography demonstrations, adding surface work to a night already built around practical learning. The club said members were encouraged to try the equipment themselves, and the report made clear how quickly good results can come when the right person is standing beside the lathe. For clubs looking to keep newer turners engaged, the format was a clear reminder that a live demo, immediate feedback and a turn at the tool can do more than a lecture ever could.

Before the lathes started turning, chairman Richard Pinches used the club night to recognize one of Burcot’s longest-serving members. Bryan Newman was announced as an Honorary Member ahead of his 90th birthday on May 21. Newman has been with Burcot Woodturners for 25 years, served on the committee for part of that time, looked after the club library and helped at outside events that introduced the club to the public. That recognition fit a club that has built its identity on continuity as much as demonstration, with volunteer effort supporting both the social side and the skills side of the craft.

Burcot Woodturners was formed in 1997 and affiliated with the Association of Woodturners of Great Britain in 1998. The club says it has long brought together woodturners of all abilities, and it welcomes members from other clubs to its nights at Burcot Village Hall, near Bromsgrove. That open-door approach was on display again after a busy stretch for the club at Woodworks at Daventry on May 1 and 2, where 14 members attended each day at Daventry Leisure Centre and came away with new contacts, fresh ideas and a look at work by Kez Halliday.

The turnout at March’s Hands On and Turning Clinic, which drew more than 60 members and visitors, suggests the formula is working. With demonstrations at the lathe, surface decoration, mentoring and a club library veteran being honored in the same evening, Burcot showed how a local turning club can keep both its skills and its community in motion.